JESSIEVILLE, Ark. — A five-year-old boy was killed by a Bullmastiff dog on Sunday after surviving the tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., on May 20.
“The child was putting on some shoes and was crying and upset,” Garland County, Ark., Deputy Scott Hinojosa, said. “The dog possibly took that as being aggressive and at that time the child was attacked.”
Lynn Geiling, the dog’s owner, tried to pull the dog off the boy, Arkansas’ FOX 16 reported. By the time Geiling was able to do so, the boy suffered injuries that deputies described as “major lacerations” to his head and neck.
Deputies told FOX 16 that the boy and his two-year-old sister had been staying with the Geiling’s, family friends, while their parents worked to rebuild their home after the tornado.
The dog ran away after the incident, and animal control had not yet captured it Sunday night. Investigators have not yet determined whether the dog’s owners will be charged for the incident.
